1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the general field of incorporating a fungicidal and antimicrobial composition, copper-8-quinolinolate, into building and construction materials and compositions, more specifically, cementitious compositions such as grout, mortar, backerboard and stucco for the purpose of inhibiting and preventing the growth of fungi, such as molds that cause mildew, as well as other microbes.
2. Description of Related Art and Information
Grout, mortar, backerboard and stucco are common cementitious-based construction materials used in the building of a vast majority of all construction and building projects. This includes living and commercial units as well as recreational, industrial, governmental and a variety of other construction ventures. Microbial containment, especially the fungal growth of mold and similar microbes, is always of concern to both contractor and inhabitant. The prevention of sick and contaminated buildings is a worthy environmental goal. Fungi that produce mold frequently grow in damp, poorly ventilated areas causing damage and an unsightly and unhealthy environment.
The floors, walls and ceilings of bath rooms, shower and bathtub stalls, changing rooms, food processing areas, storage rooms and like areas, commonly have tile set in a mortar and grout composition over a cementitious substrate for moisture and water containment and control. Mold and other microbes often grow in these areas. It has been well documented that ventilation and air distribution systems release and spread fungi and other microbes throughout the building environment. This wide spread contamination inoculates wet and difficult to dry areas with spores of fungi as well as other microbes.
A common area of fungus/mold growth causing mildew, are areas that dry slowly, thus allowing spores to germinate and flourish. There is a long felt need to control this unwelcomed contaminate and growth of mold for health and environmental reason.
Mortar, grout, backerboard and stucco are all cementitious products similar in composition but designed, applied and used for different but related objectives. Grout is a thin mortar used for the filling of spaces between tiles and masonry to provide a finish comparatively level with the surfaces of the tiles and masonry, for both aesthetics and ease of maintenance. When the grout solidifies it provides a monolithic structure to the multitude of tiles, bricks or other products that have been grouted. Grout is a bonding agent in that it must bond well into the spaces in which it is applied to.
Mortar is a basic combination of mason's, or fine sand, and Portland or mason's cement used as a bonding agent for the laying of tiles, bricks and other masonry products. Like grout, mortar provides a monolithic structure to the finished installation of masonry products, except for those that require grouting, such as ceramic tiles as well as other tiles known in the art. Mortar is used exclusively as a bonding agent to create the adherence of two separate products, such as tile, to concrete.
Backerboard is a solid sheet of a cementitious material that provides a sound, and stable substrate for the installation of tiles and masonry materials, such as thin brick veneer. Due to the nature of backerboard, being offered in sheet form, which can be nailed to walls, floors and ceilings, interior or exterior, the product eliminates the need for lath and plaster substrates as used in the past. This aspect is a great labor saver to any tile installation process. Backerboard is used only as a substrate to which other products are bonded to, such as with mortars, adhesives and mastics.
Stucco is a mixture of Portland cement and sand. It is applied to both the interior and exterior of buildings as a finished siding. Stucco has many attributes which include long low-maintenance life, integral coloring, therefore, never needing paint, and weatherproofing attributes. Stucco is employed as a decorative and useful siding material.
In the setting of tiles, a proper substrate must first be in place to support the tiles that are then bonded to the substrate. Backerboard is an example of an adequate substrate. An other example is a metal lath with cement plaster applied to it as an "on-site" substrate. With the substrate in place, tiles are set into a mortar composition, well known in the art. Once the mortar has cured, the tile-enclosed facility can then be grouted to fill the open spaces between the tiles. Once the grout has cured, it can then be exposed to moisture and use. Prior to the instant invention, the incorporation of an antimicrobial composition, specifically, copper-8-quinolinolate, into the cementitious compositions of mortar, grout, and backerboard had not been known in the art.
The use of stucco, as a cementitious interior and exterior finish in housing and commercial building construction, is still another use for the present invention in which copper-8-quinolinolate is incorporated into the stucco mix prior to its use and curing as a building siding. This new composition of a stucco-containing fungicide prevents the growth of fungus causing mildew on stucco.
The use of fungicides in various forms in the building and construction industry is known in the art. U.S. Patent No. 5,066,328 to Zlotnik, Antimicrobial Coating, is directed to an antimicrobial mixture of Copper-8-quinolinolate mixed with a binder composition that imparts sufficient fluidity to the copper-8 composition to permit the mixture to be applied as a liquid which will adhere to air passageways such as metal, fiberglass or plastic media in heating, air-conditioning and ventilation duct work for the prevention of fungal and other microbial growth. The Zlotnik invention is significantly different from the present invention in that it neither discloses, suggests nor claims the use of an antimicrobial in cementitious based products.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,784,357 to Muraoka, Protective Surfaces or Liners for Subaqueous Structures, discloses the incorporation of a choice of several chemical fungicides, including copper-8-quinolinolate, into an expanded marine shale aggregate to protect sub-aqueous concrete walls, pipes and slabs from the growth of marine-fouling organisms. Concrete is significantly different from mortar, grout, backerboard and stucco because of its composition and additives, the proportions and ratios of concrete's various elements, the large aggregate size and the uses of concrete. Muraoka does not suggest or disclose the use of antimicrobial compositions incorporated into mortar, grout, backerboard or stucco.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,556,426 to Chesney, Jr. et al., Fungicidal Grout Compositions, discloses the use of a halogenated aromatic dinitrile composition added as a fungicidal ingredient that is combined with the dry ingredients of a Portland cement grout to form a grout composition used for grouting and setting of ceramic tile. The Chesney Jr. et al. patent does not disclose, suggest or claim the use of Copper-8-quinolinolate in a grout composition for fungicidal control.
There are several U.S. Patents that have combined antimicrobials and microbiocides, more specifically, copper-8-quinolinolate, into various products, including wood, timber, cloth, concrete, rope, paper, gypsum wallboard, synthetic sheet materials in shoe construction, marine anti-fouling paint, thermoplastic resin compositions, mops and mats, fishnet and other marine structures, geotextiles in landfills, and soaps.
As the above patents disclose, copper-8-quinolinolate, as a well known fungicide, has been incorporated into a variety of products. It is an antimicrobial agent that has a low toxicity to plant and animal life. Public concern regarding toxic fungicides used in the food and ecological chains, has put pressure on governmental agencies to control, and in many cases, eliminate these agents. Examples of toxic fungicides are compounds of toxic metals such as mercury and lead, and organic compounds such as chlorinated phenols, all of which have had an adverse effect on the environment. Phenyl-mercury fungicides have been added to grout compositions in the past but increasing concern as a health hazard has all but eliminated their use.
The expensive halogenated aromatic dinitriles, combined with grout to give fungicidal activity, has not achieved the expectations or effectiveness once thought, leaving the field void of a safe, useful, practical, and effective antimicrobial that can be easily, inexpensively and effectively incorporated into mortar, grout, backerboard and stucco compositions. This lack of success of incorporating a fungicide into a tile setting system and other uses of cementitious compositions such as stucco, is illustrative of a long felt need for such compositions.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new, useful and improved mortar, grout, backerboard and stucco compositions, all cementitious-based, containing an antimicrobial agent, that can be used in the installation of ceramic, glass, stone and marble tiles as well as any other tile products requiring mortar, grout or backerboard, or for exterior and interior stucco plaster coatings. The new mortar, grout and backerboard compositions of the present invention can also be used in non-tile areas where this new composition is indicated for the inhibition of microbes.